Police confiscated drones from a group of teenagers after they were caught flying their devices near Dubai International Airport, local media reported.

The teenagers were caught before any operational activities were disrupted at the airport, however, it is the latest incident in which drones have been spotted in restricted UAE airspace, 7Days reported.

At the end of September, both Dubai and Sharjah airports were closed for one hour due to illegal drone activity.

And, last week, Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said Dubai was testing out ways to detect and track drones to prevent further disruptions.It has been claimed that airport closures due to interruptions of normal operations costs the emirate’s economy a reported AED3.7 million ($1 million) per minute.

The UAE this year introduced a ban on flying unmanned aerial vehicles in a “prohibited areas”, which includes the country’s civil airports and military facilities.Those caught breaking the law risk up to three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to AED100,000 ($27,228).

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Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, assistant chief of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigations department, said: “We spotted several drones near Dubai Airport recently and managed to identify and question the owners. They were young people practising their hobby but they didn’t have a licence to fly a drone.

“They told us it’s just a hobby – but such hobbies can cause millions of dirhams in losses, even if the airport is shut for a few minutes.”

He added: “We confiscated the drones and told them it’s forbidden and illegal to use the drones near the air space of the airport.

“We are implementing strict orders by the chief of police to step up patrols around the airport to prevent drones entering the flight path airspace.”